Microsoft External Research builds bridges between academia, industry, and government to advance computer science, education, and scientific research. Modern science and academic research increasingly relies on integrated information technologies and computation to collect, process, and analyze complex data. Advanced computing tools and platforms must seamlessly integrate into standard scientific methodologies and processes. Microsoft External Research is committed to open access, open tools, and interoperability in the heterogeneous world of research. This talk will illustrate the far-reaching changes open research tools and services will have to support every stage of the research process.

Tony Hey

Microsoft Corporation

As Corporate Vice President of the External Research Division of Microsoft Research, Tony Hey is responsible for the worldwide external research and technical computing strategy across Microsoft Corp. He leads the company’s efforts to build long-term public-private partnerships with global scientific and engineering communities, spanning broad reach and in-depth engagements with academic and research institutions, related government agencies and industry partners. His responsibilities also include working with internal Microsoft groups to build future technologies and products that will transform computing for scientific and engineering research. Hey also oversees Microsoft Research’s efforts to enhance the quality of higher education around the world.

Before joining Microsoft, Hey served as director of the U.K.‘s e-Science Initiative, managing the government’s efforts to provide scientists and researchers with access to key computing technologies. Before leading this initiative, Hey worked as head of the School of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton, where he helped build the department into one of the pre-eminent computer science research institutions in England.

Hey is a fellow of the U.K.‘s Royal Academy of Engineering and a member of the European Union’s Information Society Technology Advisory Group. He also has served on several national committees in the U.K., including committees of the U.K. Department of Trade and Industry and the Office of Science and Technology.

For his service to science, Hey received the award of Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2005 U.K. New Year’s Honours List.

Hey is a graduate of Oxford University, with both an undergraduate degree in physics and a doctorate in theoretical physics.